


Deal

by Burgie



Series: Katja Joins Team Good AU [21]
Category: Star Stable
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 21:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7729789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mandy makes a deal with the smugglers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Deal

The salty air of Golden Hills Valley had sent Mandy’s skin tingling as soon as she’d rode in here that morning. The water was tempting as hell, too. Maybe now she’d finally get to swim in the open ocean.

“Better not,” said Mandy. She rode Lemonpepper along the beach, trying to ignore the way the water was calling to her. At least she wasn’t a siren like her mother and brother, the song of the water was even harder to resist then. Still, her fingers hovered just over her saddlebag. It was so tempting to put her skin on and go for a swim.

And the Labyrinth Shore would be the perfect place to go swimming, too. The twisty turns that she navigated would make it difficult for anyone to see her. She could put her skin on in the shallow water and swim out where it was deeper.

In the middle of the maze-like place, Mandy dismounted to pick up the empty key box. “Got it. Let’s go, Lemonpepper.”

Rather than turning back, though, her horse turned to the deeper water.

“What is it?” asked Mandy. “Come on, we have to go to back to Mayor Klaus.” Her horse shook his head and backed up a little. Suddenly, Mandy remembered that Louisa had mentioned a shortcut through the maze. “Ooh, clever boy.”

Lemonpepper cleared the gap easily, landing on the opposite shore and then trotting onto the dry sand. They rode along the beach a little further and finally came to a cave.

“What’s this? A land crab has stumbled onto our cave,” said the one-eyed and one-legged smuggler. Mandy laughed, then laughed harder at his look of confusion. “What’s funny?”

“Oh, nothing,” said Mandy. She giggled. Oh, if only they knew the truth. “Do you have the key to the city?” She looked directly at the smuggler’s wooden leg.

“What? Uhh, why would I have that?” asked the smuggler.

“You’ve only got one leg,” said Mandy. “And the footprints on the Labyrinth Shore have only one boot print.”

“Good point,” said the smuggler. “Okay then, maybe I do have the key.”

“Why?” asked Mandy, folding her arms over her chest. She didn’t want to dismount, having learned intimidation tactics from watching her mothers deal with threats. They were mostly just druids who disagreed with their relationship, but they still acted the same.

“We stole the key so we could make some extra money smuggling things through the iron gate through the winter,” said the lead smuggler. His partner remained silent.

“That’s actually a pretty good tactic,” said Mandy. “You realise that you potentially let out a few winter spirits?”

“It was worth it,” said the smuggler.

“It could have gone very badly,” said Mandy. She realised that she sounded like her mama, but she didn’t care. “You’re lucky that it didn’t.”

“Now, you realise that we can’t just let you go, knowing what you do,” said the smuggler. Mandy snorted. The things she knew that they didn’t were too many to count. “So I propose a deal: we’ll let you go if you don’t tell anyone about us.”

“Counter proposal,” said Mandy. “You keep me safe while I swim and keep my secret, and I’ll keep your secret?”

“What secret?” asked the smuggler, scratching his head. “Be you a mermaid?”

“Please, mermaids are a myth made up by humans to make sirens less scary,” said Mandy. “I’m a selkie.”

“Prove it,” said the smuggler, narrowing his one eye.

“Alright,” said Mandy. She dismounted and finally grabbed her skin, brimming with excitement. “Come on. I’m not changing on land.”

It was hard not to run to the shore. Mandy took off her socks and sneakers, digging her toes into the wet sand. It always felt so nice. Then, she unfolded her skin over her head and dropped it on herself. She’d always had a bit of a flair for the dramatic. 

Mandy slid into the water, revelling in the salty water welcoming her. She’d never swam out in the open before. It just wasn’t safe in her time, and she didn’t trust anyone here. Not until she’d met these guys, anyway.

The smugglers stood on the shore, gaping at the sight of the brown-eyed white seal looking at them. Mandy laughed the barking laugh of a seal, slapping her flippers together.

“Now do you believe me?” she asked.

“You’re not a landlubber after all,” said the smuggler. “You’re a sea crab.”

“I’m a seal, you idiot,” said Mandy. She made her way back onto the shore and changed back, her clothes wet and her hair plastered to her face. “So, do we have a deal?”

“Yes,” said the smuggler. “We will protect you while you swim.”

“Thank you,” said Mandy. “And I will keep your secret. I take my promises seriously, you know.” She laughed. “My family has a history of promises.”

“You’re a strange one, seal girl,” said the smuggler. “But I trust you.”

“You selkie. Eat man?” asked the other smuggler.

“No,” said Mandy. “I’m like my mum like that. We don’t tend to stick to our kind’s rules.” She grinned.

“Is your mother a selkie too?” asked the smuggler.

“No. She’s a siren,” said Mandy. 

“That would explain your sharp teeth,” said the smuggler. Mandy covered her mouth with her hand. She’d forgotten her own rules. “No, don’t worry. We don’t judge based on different physical appearance, as you can see.” The smuggler gestured to his own missing limb and eye.

“Can I eat with you guys sometimes?” asked Mandy. “Just leave me some raw fish. I won’t always have time to go hunting.”

“Of course,” said the smuggler. “The more the merrier. And you won’t waste any of the fish.” Mandy laughed, glad that she could be herself in the company of these people. Her mother was comfortable in her presence in this time, but that was all.

“Thank you,” said Mandy, feeling tears come to her eyes. “I’d better take the key back to the mayor. I’ll make up something about finding the key on the beach.”

“You’re welcome, selkie. And thank you,” said the smuggler. “When will we be seeing you again?”

“I have a lot to do here so let’s do lunch tomorrow,” said Mandy. “Oh, and I could catch some fish for you too if you like.”

“Excellent. It was nice meeting you, selkie. We will see you again tomorrow,” said the smuggler.

“See ya,” said Mandy. She mounted Lemonpepper, putting her skin away, and rode back through the Labyrinth Shore feeling much better than she had before.


End file.
